He Isn't Stupid
by punkyrockz
Summary: Everyone thought Beast Boy was stupid sometimes. But it's not his fault he grew up speaking Swahili and his language barrier stops him.


'hakuna kwneda mbali! mama! baba! kuja nyuma! nisaidie! hakuna!' Beast Boy jolted awake. The nightmares from his past were haunting his dreams. BB glanced over at the clock, it was 4 a.m. He sighed before grabbing two large books from underneath his pillow and heading towards the living room.

It was a great time to study. He was carrying a book in swahili and a english-swahili dictionary. 'kijnga jinamizi. i kweli hahaya kufanya kazi juu ya sarufi yang.' he muttered. Beast Boy took a seat on the couch. His dictionary was frequently used in secret, especially when he was reading some of Robin's reports. Beast Boy never got a true understanding of English and he was never taught. He had taught himself everything he knows. BB may not show it but he was actually very intelligent.

The language barrier hinders him though. And BB loves reading, he just hasn't grasped reading English yet. Beast Boy read his favorite book for a minute. It was an old book, Pride and Prejudice. It was after about an hour that he turned to his dictionary. He went threw his phonics again and struggled to try and translate a page from his book. 'kutoamba.' he cursed and tossed his books to the floor in frustrated. English was just so hard for him to completely grasp.

'Beast Boy. I didn't know you were up.' her monotone voice was the only sound in the room. He froze.

'I couldn't sleep.' Beast boy quickly stood hoping that she wouldn't walk over and see his late night studying. Raven had just finished pouring herself a cup of herbal tea. She scanned over his tense body before nodding as if he had passed a test.

'Very well. Good night.' she left the room.

Beast Boy sighed in relief before throwing himself back down on the couch. Beast Boy bent over and gathered his books again. Then he grabbed a pencil and some notebook paper. He might as well practice his writing, which was even more lacking than his reading. He wrote out the alphabet sloppily on the paper before attempting a simple sentence.

—

His teammates found him asleep head resting on the kitchen counter where he had been working. Robin frowned reaching over and gazing at the dictionary. "I wonder what this is all about." he thought.

Before he could ask the others Beast Boy bolted up wide awake. He rubbed his eyes, 'mimi nimechoka.' he muttered under his breath. Robin wondered what he was saying.

Upon seeing all of his teammates Beast Boy went red quickly grabbing all of his books and his writing. 'Um, hey dude.' He tried to scramble away but ran straight into Cyborg and all of his work came crashing to the floor in front of everyone.

He paled and realized he had been cornered by everyone. 'Beast Boy, is there something you want to tell us?' Robin asked.

Beast Boy sighed in defeat grabbed his things from the floor before placing them on the counter and setting them down. 'Um, so, I was born here in America, but when I was a month old my parents moved to Africa, they were scientists. And so I learned Swahili, as my first language. After they, died,' Beast Boy choked on the last word. All of his teammates had gathered around listening with rapt attention. BB never spoke of his past. 'After they died, I moved back to America. I never went to school or had any lessons, so I've been teaching myself English, in secret.'

All his teammates felt horrible. They had always thought his was just not the sharpest knife in the drawer. They never thought the language had halted him. 'Why didn't you ask for help?' Raven asked.

'You all think I'm stupid. And don't deny it. I understand. I just don't get half of the things you say because I haven't mastered English yet. Robin, I struggle with your reports, Raven, I would read if we had anything in Swahili and Cy, I would help with the computer stuff if it wasn't in English. I mean,' he gestured to all of his work from his late night study session.

'Why didn't you ask for help?' Robin asked.

'Yea man, we could have tutored you. That way you wouldn't have to have a late night kind of thing.' Cyborg added in.

'We are your friends.' Raven placed a hand on his shoulder.

'No one has ever tried to help before.' Beast Boy played with his hands nervously.

'Well, why don't I started up some tofu eggs and waffles while Robin helps you through whatever you were doing last night?' Cyborg grinned already heading for the refrigerator.

Beast Boy managed a smile back. 'Thanks guys.'

Robin bent over his sloppy work before pointing at a word. 'The c is a k.'

Soon the three and sometimes Starfire, bent over the work for the rest of the morning.

That was it guys! and here are the translations: (keep in mind I just used google translate)

hakuna kwneda mbali! mama! baba! kuja nyuma! nisaidie! hakuna! :no get away! mom! dad! help me! no!

kijnga jinamizi. i kweli hahaya kufanya kazi juu ya sarufi yang. :stupid nightmare. i really need to work on my grammar.

kutoamba :fuck

mimi nimechoka :i'm exhausted


End file.
